Germany condemns Putin gas supply 'blackmail'

BBC

 India being wooed from all sides as Lavrov arrives in Dehli

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has touched down in India, the latest official to visit in what feels like a conveyor belt of diplomacy.

In the last week or so, delegations from China, America, Germany, Japan and Mexico have

also passed through.

Lavrov’s arrival came just as UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wrapped up a day of meetings in Delhi. While she’s unlikely to bump into Lavrov, the fact they’re both here at the same time is an indication of how India is being wooed from all sides.

New Delhi has remained neutral on the issue of Ukraine. Prime Minister Modi has called for the violence to end, but has stopped short of denouncing Russia’s actions.

Friday’s talks with Lavrov are expected to include discussions on how India can buy more cheap oil from Russia, using a payment system that would not breach sanctions regulations.

But the US deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh, who is yet another visitor in Delhi today, warned there would be “consequences to countries that actively attempt to circumvent or backfill the sanctions".

India is keen to stress that Russian oil makes up a tiny proportion of its overall purchases and that the EU still buys far more.

India's position remains one of neutrality. Here, Moscow remains a friend, not a foe.

Images capture lives upended by the conflict

As Thursday draws to an end in Ukraine, here are some pictures of people affected by the war on the 36th day of Russia's invasion.

Putin's in a cage he built himself, says UK defence minister

Russia is now a "lesser country" as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, says UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

Speaking to Sky News, he adds: "President Putin is not the force he used to be. He is now a man in a cage he built himself.

"His army is exhausted, he has suffered significant losses.

"The reputation of this great army of Russia has been trashed.

"He has not only got to live with the consequences of what he is doing to Ukraine, but he has also got to live with the consequences of what he has done to his own army."

Wallace says Russian forces appear to be regrouping and shifting their focus towards the south and east of Ukraine.

"We have seen it before. It always gets worse. It goes for more civilian attacks, more civilian areas."

He adds that international allies have agreed to supply more military equipment and "lethal aid" to Ukraine, including armoured vehicles and long-range artillery and ammunition.

No clear evidence Putin pulling all troops out of Kyiv - Biden

The US president has told journalists he is sceptical of Russian claims that it would pull troops away from Kyiv and focus on the east of the country.

"It's an open question whether he's actually pulling back," Joe Biden told journalists.

"Thus far, there is no clear evidence that he's pulling all his forces out of Kyiv. There is also evidence that he's beefing up his troops down in the Donbass area," he said.

"I don't know the answer, it appears so far... the idea that he's pulling all his troops out from around Kyiv and moving south - there's no evidence he's done that," he added

What are the latest developments?

If you're just joining us, here is a recap of some of the main developments today:

On the international stage:

• US President Joe Biden has announced the release of an unprecedented one million barrels of oil from the country's strategic stockpiles every day for the next six months to dampen soaring fuel prices after banning Russian oil imports
• The US president warned oil firms sitting on idle wells or unused leases that they will have to start producing or pay for their inaction.
• It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that from tomorrow foreign buyers of Russian gas must pay in roubles by opening a Russian bank account or have their contracts cancelled
• Western companies and governments have responded by rejecting Russia's demands as a breach of existing contracts, which are set in euros or US dollars
• Germany - Russia's largest EU customer - said it would not be blackmailed, France said it was planning to cut Russian gas deliveries and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said paying in roubles is "not something we will be looking into"

On the ground:

• A convoy of 45 buses is preparing to leave Zaporizhzhiafor Mariupol in a bid to evacuate civilians from the besieged port city after Russia agreed to a ceasefire to allow civilians to leave
• The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was ready to lead the evacuation operation if both sides agreed to terms, after previous efforts collapsed
• Shelling appears to have continued around Kyiv and Chernihiv despite Russia saying it would scale down its operations there
• Ukraine's state nuclear company said many of the Russian troops holding the Chernobyl nuclear plant have left, according to Reuters news agency

Russia's aim to take all of Ukraine has 'fallen apart' - UK military chief

Earlier this afternoon, the head of Britain's armed forces gave his update on the war.

In a speech followed by a question-and-answer session at the Institute for Government think tank, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin echoed sentiments made elsewhere by the UK and US, that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been "misled" about the effectiveness of his country's armed forces.

He said the UK was "incredibly cautious" about believing Russian claims of withdrawing from the capital Kyiv but said there did appear to be signs the Kremlin was preparing to focus its efforts on the east and south of Ukraine.

"We are starting to see the early indications of those forces being moved back from Kyiv and retreating to both Russia and Belarus," Radakin said.

"That in itself is a difficult evolution for Russia because they are doing that under contact, so Ukraine armed forces will attack those Russian forces as they retreat."

Radakin, who replaced General Sir Nick Carter in the top job late last year, warned the coming weeks would "continue to be very difficult" for Ukraine, before adding: "But in many ways, Putin has already lost.

"Far from being the far-sighted manipulator of events that he would have us believe, Putin has damaged himself through a series of catastrophic misjudgements."

Putin may have put advisers under house arrest, Biden claims

US President Joe Biden says Russian President Vladimir Putin "seems to be self-isolating".

"There's some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers," he claims.

"I don't want to put too much stock in that at this time because we don't have that much hard evidence."

Biden calls for 'made-in-America' clean energy future

More now from US President Joe Biden.

He says moving towards clean energy will help Americans deal with rising fuel prices.

The US must "double down on clean energy", Biden says, which includes passing his bill currently before Congress.

Biden says he's issuing a directive to strengthen the US's clean energy economy, using the Defense Production Act - which gives the government increased power over domestic industries in emergencies.

This will help secure American supply chains and reduce dependence on China and other countries for materials such as lithium, nickel and graphite, which are used in electric cars and energy storage, he says, in order to "build a made-in-America clean energy future".

This, he says, will save Americans money.

Biden urges US companies to increase oil production

US President Joe Biden is speaking about the way high oil prices are "hitting Americans at the pump".

"I know how much it hurts," he says.

He says banning Russian oil imports was "the right thing to do" but it would "come with a cost".

Biden says US oil companies are recording increasing profits and have a choice: Between putting these to use by producing more oil, giving US people a break, or "they can exploit the situation".

Biden says he is announcing a "use-it-or-lose it" policy, where companies will face fees for idle wells if they do not restart production.

Biden announcing US oil plans

President Joe Biden is now announcing plans to release a record amount of oil from US strategic stockpiles, in response to the Ukraine war.

We'll bring you updates from what he says.

Zaporizhzhia prepares for Mariupol evacuees

Here in Zaporizhzhia, the last big city in Ukrainian held territory in the south east, local officials and aid workers are preparing to receive thousands of refugees from Mariupol.

Tens of thousands of people are trapped in the city after weeks of fighting and heavy Russian bombardments.

Organised by the Ukrainian government in conjunction with the Red Cross, the convoy of 45 buses, supported by medical vehicles, will depart from Zaporizhzhia on Friday but only if all sides can agree on a 24 hour ceasefire around the city.

Previous attempts to establish humanitarian corridors from Mariupol failed after vehicles were attack on the roads out.

A spokesperson for the ICRC said it was “desperately important the operation takes place - the lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it".

What could Putin's gas payment threat mean for Europe?

For the Kremlin this is designed to suggest a dramatic escalation in the economic battle between the West and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has outlined a pathway for the cutting off gas supplies to Europe, if Western customers refuse to pay for supplies in the Russian currency the rouble.

However, the market reaction suggests the details of the mechanism, means that, in practice, European customers will just have to change their currency dealers to Gazprombank. That bank has already been left unsanctioned, for the purpose of continuity of energy trade.

As a result, gas prices remain very high, but did not today shoot into the stratosphere. There should be a work-around. As one leading analyst told me, this solution has “saved face” for Putin, who can sound tough on domestic TV. Ultimately, as Russian officials have repeatedly said for decades, Russian supply of energy to the West continued uninterrupted even during the height of the Cold War.

Ultimately, Russia still needs the money for the gas and still wants to leave the possibility of a market for its main export, once a peace deal is signed. However, it is also true to say that the threat of a cut-off has escalated. EU nations have prepared emergency measures to manage demand, and would be more willing to face that now during spring and summer than winter.

The net effect of the mechanism announced is to limit the ability of the West to freeze the revenues they pay to Gazprom, which Putin described as receiving the gas for free.

Some Ukrainian officials have suggested such an approach. Oil and gas dollars and euros continue to help the Kremlin resist an otherwise tough set of financial sanctions.

Biden to announce record oil release from stockpiles

President Joe Biden will shortly announce the release of a record amount of oil from US strategic stockpiles, says the White House.

It says an unprecedented one million barrels a day will be released to the market from US reserves for the next six months.

It hopes the move will dampen soaring fuel prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices began to fall earlier today after reports emerged that the US was considering tapping its crude reserves.

Putin miscalculated everything – former Russian foreign minister

Russia’s former foreign minister has been speaking on the BBC’s Global Questions programme.

Asked if Vladimir Putin's plans to weaken Nato have backfired by invading Ukraine, Andrei Kozyrev says “he miscalculated everything.”

He goes on to criticise Putin’s track record in office, saying Russia is “declining” because it’s too dependent on exports of raw materials.

Kozyrev served in the government of Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s.

You can watch the broadcast now on BBC World News, the BBC News Channel and by clicking the play button at the top of this page.

Rounding up international reaction to Putin's gas supply threat

Here's a reminder of some of the international reaction to President Putin's threat to cut gas supplies to "unfriendly" countries if they don't start paying for gas imports in Russian roubles.

Western companies and governments have rejected Russia's demands as a breach of existing contracts, which are set in euros or US dollars.

Germany is Russia's largest customer in the EU. The country's economy minister, Robert Habeck, said: "It is important for us not to give a signal that we will be blackmailed by Putin."

And German finance minister Christian Lindner echoed his words: "It is clear for us there can be no political blackmail."

He added: "We are convinced that contracts are contracts. The contracts are based on euro and so we will continue to pay for energy imports in euro."

France also insists "contracts are contracts".

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says paying in roubles is "not something we will be looking into".

Dutch energy company Eneco states it has a long-term contract with Wingas, a German subsidiary of Russia's Gazprom, for delivery until 2030.

"Eneco expects its current contract with Wingas in euros to be honoured," it added.

Could Ukraine 'win' the war? And other questions

Thanks for all the questions you submitted to Jenny Hill in Moscow and Orla Guerin in Kyiv. You can now find all the answers here. We'll provide more chances in the future for you to send in your questions to our correspondents around the world.

In the meantime we'll continue to bring you the latest developments, analysis and reaction to the war in Ukraine.

US sanctions target tech sector and cyber actors

The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, this time targeting its technology sector.

The US Treasury said it was imposing sanctions on 21 entities and 13 individuals, including Mikron, Russia's largest chipmaker ands its largest manufacturer and exporter of microelectronics.

The move was intended to target "sanctions evasion networks" and "key Russian technology companies that are enabling Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine".

Among those sanctioned were also "Russian government malicious cyber actors," the US Treasury said.

"We will continue to target Putin’s war machine with sanctions from every angle, until this senseless war of choice is over," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.

Moscow faces a wide range of international sanctions on sectors ranging from military goods to luxury items, air travel and banking.

Many Russian troops have left Chernobyl plant - Ukrainian nuclear firm

Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom says many of the Russian troops holding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have left, Reuters news agency has reported.

Energoatom said the departing Russian forces are heading for the Belarusian border, leaving just a few troops behind on the territory of defunct plant - the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.

"The occupiers, who seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the exclusion zone, have set off in two columns towards the Ukrainian border," Energoatom said in a statement.

It added that Russian troops had also withdrawn from the nearby town of Slavutych, where Ukrainian workers at Chernobyl live.

Russian troops seized control of the Chernobyl plant on the first day of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine had voiced safety fears about the plant and the difficult conditions workers trapped there were having to endure.

Russia denied that its forces put nuclear facilities inside Ukraine at risk.

The Polish city paying Ukrainian refugees to work

Tatiana and her children fled Ukraine in the boot of a car two days after Russia invaded.

This morning, her daughter played with her new friends in a breakfast club as Tatiana prepared for her first day working in a new school, in a new country - Poland.

Back home in Ukraine, Tatiana is a teacher. Here, the Polish city of Lublin is the first in the country to bring in a cash-for-work scheme for refugees, which is paying Tatiana to teach.

The scheme involves 47 refugee teachers being placed in 39 schools across the city to support the 1,500 new pupils who have started school over the past month.

Lublin has been widely praised for how NGOs, local government and volunteers have worked together to support refugees, by integrating them into schools, workplaces and life in the city.

The city of 350,000 people is currently hosting around 40,000 Ukrainian refugees. Almost 2.4 million people have fled Ukraine to Poland since the war began.

Schemes here in Lublin are now being rolled out across the country to help those in need.

UK not planning to pay for Russian gas in roubles - PM's spokesman

Germany and France have already both come out to say they reject Russia's demand for gas payments to made in roubles.

Asked whether the UK would accept Russia's demand, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was not something it would be looking into.

He added that the UK was monitoring the implications for the European market.

Source: BBC